Hua Yi Secondary School

History
Secondary 4 Express



Name: ____________________________ [ ] Class: 4E ________

Date: ____________________________

1. Inference
Inferring about an issue in the given question: Look for clues in the source
regarding the following issue



What can you infer about Hitlers economic impact? (Issue: Hitlers economic
impact)

Point What is your inference based on issue?
Evidence What is being said in the source
Explanation Contextual knowledge


E.g. From Source A. I can infer that Hitlers economic impact was successful and it
benefited the Germans to a large extent. This is evident as the source states
that. Germans.. This means that people were happy with the economy
as they gained from the various schemes that Hitler put in place.

2. Inference with purpose
What is the message of this source
Why was this source produced.

Factor What It Means Details

Author

Who made the
comment?

PM Goh Chok Tong


Audience

To whom was the
comment directed at?
Specific group?
Wider,
international
audience?

Singaporeans

International audience

Context

What is the issue
leading to the comment
being made?
What year was it
published in?


Singaporeans have reservations towards
the governments policy of bringing in
foreign talent/ feel that foreign talent
are stealing their jobs. This is especially
the case as this source was produced in
1999, the year that ..

Message

Content of source

All Singaporeans will be given top
priority to develop their talent and to
put their talent to good use (Your own
talent will always come first).
In areas where Singaporeans lack the
skills, foreign talent is needed to
cope with the expanding economy (But
the reality is, we do not have enough
people more talent we have, the
stronger our economic capability)

Impact

What is the outcome of
his speech?
What does the author
intend for audience to
think do/feel?
He wants to dispel the fear of
Singaporeans.
He wants to change of mindset in all
Singaporeans and support governments
policy to see the situation in broader
perspective long term interest of the
country.
Vocabulary Words to use to show
purpose
ssure, reassure, convince, advice,
guarantee, persuade, allay, dispel, pacify,
ridicule

3. Comparison
Doing Comparison or Compare and contrast
Read the sources and identify similarities and differences in provenance, content, tone,
purpose. ( Some sources may not have purpose)
Remember that your comparisons must match.
Always use source details to support your similarities and differences.

A way to remember how to compare:
Please Come To Play provenance+ content + tone + purpose/motive
Criterion What it means Details from source/
Background
information/
Inference
Provenance What are the similarities and differences between the
two provenances?

Content What are the similarities and differences between the
content of the two sources

Tone Are the tones similar or different?
What is the similarity or difference?
Overall tone

Purpose Are the purposes different or similar?
What is the similarity or difference?

Remember : Please Provenance
Come Content
To - Tone
Play - Purpose / Motive
Tone
1. Positive / negative/ objective
2. Subjective/ objective
3. Biased/ not biased??? [Purpose]
4. Optimistic/ pessimistic
5. Careless/ cautionary / warning



4. Reliability

Provenance
Look at the provenance. Is the speaker/ author/ cartoonist credible?
Is it one persons view or a general opinion of many people?
Is it typical of everyones views? (Typicality)
Content
Read the content for key ideas. Does it contain facts, opinions or propaganda?
Is the speaker/author/ cartoonist biased?
Which phrases in the source show that the source is reliable? What is missing in
the source?
Cross reference
To strengthen your stand, cross-refer to other sources.
i. E.g. Source X is not reliable in showing that because it is not
supported by Source Y. Source Y mentions that which is opposite
of Source Xs . It does not support Source X and hence, makes
Source X not credible.


How to write a cross reference? Use a 4- step approach
1. Source X claims..
2. Source X is not supported/ is contradicted/ is refuted by Source Y as
3. Y claims ..
4. Thus Source X is not reliable.

Analysing provenance
Last of all, question the purpose of the source. Can you trust him based on his
purpose? Remember your purpose statement.
A way to remember how test reliability:
To - Typicality
Believe - Detect Bias
Please - Purpose
Cross - Cross Reference

*Ensure you answer the question Is it reliable or not reliable?






Usefulness
Usefulness in content
This source is useful because __________________________
Evidence: ___________________
Cross refer (sources or CK)
usefulness
Limitations in content
i. Missing information? What does it not tell you?
ii. One sided?
Cross refer to other sources/ contextual knowledge to support your
point)
Reliability
Examine purpose
* Do not conclude & say Therefore this source is useful. X
My answer:
Yes, Source B is _______________ in showing me the presence of entrepreneurial spirit in
Singapore. Based on the source, I can tell that
This implies that
To further strengthen my answer, I can cross-refer to Source _____. Source _____ has the same
opinion as Source B in (state claim) _____________________________________. Based on Source
____, it tells me that .
Thus, since Source ____ supports Source B, Source B is useful as evidence.








Are you surprised?
Provenance
Does it
surprise you?

No I am not surprised.
First hand account: it must be credible

Yes I am surprised
I do not expect Mr Lee to be commenting on this issue.

Content:

I am not surprised by what he said. [ Something you
expect]
It is expected for a British to feel sad initially but happy
that the business is going to grow with Kraft
- Provide evidence


I am surprised as I do not expect a British citizen to support
Krafts takeover. [ Something that you do not expect]
- Provide evidence from source
- Provide evidence

Cross
reference
2 sources
agree-Not
surprised


No I am not surprised because his view is shared by
others. Source E says. And Source B supports this




.
2 sources
disagree-
Surprised

Yes I am surprised that the writer in Source E thinks that
there are employment opportunities with a growth in
business. Quote
The cartoonist in Source C disagrees with this view
because..Quote

Purpose/
Referenced to
wider context
I am surprise or not surprise because



Author
Aim
Audience Limited/Wider audience
Context- Date
Impact: What the author expects the audience to think
or feel.

Hybrid questions
Q. How far does Source D show that Source C is wrong?
Steps to analysing this question:

Part Questions Example/ answers
1 Provenance of
the sources
Who are the writers?

What is their relationship like?
Would they likely be in agreement or
conflict in terms of their mentality/
opinion on the issue?
D John, from Russia
C Sindy , from USA
Strained one
In conflict
2 Content of the
sources
Do the sources say different things?







Do the sources say the same things?

Lets take for example, Source C says ABC
and
Source D says XYZ.
If the content of both sources
differ, then Source D shows
that Source C is wrong, then
answer is at L3.

However, if Source C says XYZ
and Source D says XYZ,
both sources are the same in
content. Therefore, D shows that Source C is
right. Answer is at L4.
(L3+)













3 Purpose/
reliability
To achieve the higher levels, you are to
focus on the reliability of Source C.
Three ways to go about it:
a. Questioning the provenance of
the source to interpret the
purpose/ motive of the author,
( Does the writer of Source C
has a personal agenda?)
b. Looking at the content of Source
C, or

c. Cross-referencing with other
sources besides Source D.
( do other sources support
Sources C? )
What happens if Source C is
unreliable?
Or


What happens if Source C is reliable?

What happens if D is unreliable?
Or
What happens if D is reliable?



.







So if Source C is not reliable, Source D
cannot show/ does show Source C is
wrong in the first place.


Source D does not show that Source C
is wrong.
Source D does not show that Source C
is wrong
Source D shows that Source C is
wrong


Interpreting cartoons/ pictures/ photographs
Areas to look for Questions to ask
S Symbols Are there any symbols representing something?
O Opinion What is the opinion of the cartoonist/ artist/ photographer
regarding this matter?
Is he biased?
What is the focus of the cartoon
R Real life character Any real life characters?
Who are they?
What roles do they play?
E Event What is the event talked about in the cartoon/ photograph/
picture?
I Impact on targeted
audience
Who is the cartoonists/ photographers targeted audience?
What is the impact he wants to create?
What tone does he convey?
Why does he want his audience to feel and do after viewing
his cartoon?
What is the purpose of the cartoon/ photograph?